CHANDIGARH: Jailed Khadoor Sahib MP and Akali Dal Waris Punjab De (AD-WPD) chief Amritpal Singh has been granted one-day custody parole to attend the cremation of his grandmother, Mata Charan Kaur, in his native village in Punjab on Saturday.
Amritpal, who is lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh Central Jail, had sought four days of parole, from November 14 to November 17. However, the court granted him permission for only one day. His uncle, Harjeet Singh, has reportedly been granted three-day parole, while his cousin, Sukhman Singh, has received parole for two days.
Family sources said Amritpal is scheduled to reach his native village of Jallupur Khera in Amritsar district on Saturday to attend the cremation. The family had moved the Amritsar court seeking his temporary release after Charan Kaur, 84, died on Sunday following a prolonged illness.
Sources said the AAP-led Punjab government had imposed several security-related terms and conditions for granting parole to Amritpal.
The decision followed a petition filed by his legal counsel in the Amritsar District and Sessions Court, urging it to consider both legal and humanitarian grounds. The defence team had sought temporary release for the MP and other detained family members to enable them to bid a final farewell to Kaur.
The family had earlier expressed anguish after a court-permitted 10-minute video call from Assam's Dibrugarh Central Jail, where Amritpal is currently lodged, could not be successfully facilitated.
Confirming the development, his lawyer, Karamvir Singh, said Amritpal Singh had been granted custody parole. He also stated that other family members of the MP had been granted parole.
Welcoming the court's decision, Akali Dal Waris Punjab De leader Manpreet Singh Ayali described it as a humane and sensitive step.
“The court had finally allowed Amritpal on parole, bringing relief to a family that had been waiting for an opportunity for him to bid his grandmother a final farewell,” he said.
However, he also expressed disappointment that the family had to postpone the cremation to secure permission for the MP to attend the funeral.
He said it was unfortunate that a grieving family had to withhold the cremation of a loved one to obtain what should be a basic human right — allowing a grandson to say his final goodbye to his grandmother.
Adding that his party respected the judiciary and remained committed to pursuing all matters through lawful and constitutional means, Ayali said, “Gratitude is not weakness, just as firmness is not disrespect.”
Singh has been lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam since April 2023, after being arrested in connection with the February 23, 2023, attack on Ajnala police station in Amritsar district. During the incident, Amritpal and a large group of supporters allegedly stormed the police station, with several carrying swords and firearms, and clashed with police personnel while demanding the release of his aide, Lovepreet Singh Toofan.
The incident triggered a major security and law-and-order crisis in Punjab. Police had launched a statewide operation to apprehend Amritpal, who remained on the run for nearly a month before being arrested from Rode village in Moga district on April 23, 2023.